Josephine tops

Going through my closet last month in preparation for hot weather, I started looking at what I needed for summer clothing.  One thing I have a lot of is shorts.  It’s kind of funny because I never used to regularly wear shorts until having children.  It was always skirts and dresses for me.  Now I run around on playgrounds and mostly dress for ease and comfort.  I decided that I needed a few new tops but something that could fit into the ‘ease and comfort’ category.  I have owned the Josephine pattern from Made by Rae for a while but have never made it.  The pattern has wonderful reviews and so I decided to make two sleeveless versions to go with my abundant supply of shorts.

Josephine top pattern by Rae Hoekstra of the Made by Rae blog.

In green chambray.

Front neckline with homemade bias tape.

The fabric that I used was from Hawthorne Threads and it is “Chambray in Bluegrass” by Andover.  It’s very pretty and has yellow and blue threads in it.  I also made my own bias tape to finish the neckline and armholes using leftover chambray by Kaufman in Union Worn Indigo.  This pattern has a great fit and it comes in A/B and C/D cup sizes.  I went with the C/D cup size and cut out a size large but right under the bottom dart line I sloped back in and cut the body in a medium.  I love that this pattern comes in two different bust sizes.

Dot chambray in indigo.

Yellow bias around neckline.

For my second sleeveless Josephine top I used “Dot Chambray in Indigo” by Kaufman.  I used a bright yellow bias tape from my stash to finish the neckline and armholes as I thought it would give it a cute little pop of color.  This fabric was also from Hawthorne Threads and has been in my stash for a while now.  The fabric is very lightweight and feels a bit bigger than the green one, probably because the green chambray is thicker.  I love both tops and have been wearing them quite regularly!  If you haven’t tried the Josephine pattern, it is wonderful and I would definitely recommend it.  The directions are easy to follow.

The Last Telegram by Liz Trenow.

As summer progresses, I hope you are having many lazy, relaxing days and getting to read lots of lovely books.  I’ve just finished The Last Telegram by Liz Trenow.  It’s another WWII historical fiction book.  What is it with me and WWII novels?  I.just.can’t.get.enough.  I am not alone in this.  One of my girlfriends reads them all the time too.  We are always sharing new titles and discovering more.  Anyway, I couldn’t put this one down.  It’s about a woman working at her family’s silk mill, she falls in love, people die, its tragic but uplifting and, well, I read it late into the night.  If you are into this type of historical fiction, check it out here.  Have you read anything great lately?